Disposable surgical gowns have largely displaced reusable linen gowns in the operating rooms. Disposable surgical gowns provide better protection against possible bacterial contamination from the surgeon to the patient because they do not have tears or openings which may be present in linen gowns. In addition, disposable surgical gowns are made with repellent fabrics which prevent the wetting of the gown and the possible transmission of bacteria between the patient and surgeon through the wetted surfaces of the gown. The fabrics from which disposble gowns are made are generally nonwoven fabrics which contain a binder material as part of the nonwoven fabric. The fabrics may also contain various repellent and fabric finishes on the surface of the gown. Because of these binder materials, repellent and fabric finishes, it has been found that some disposable operating gowns have a tendency for their surfaces to adhere together or block following the normal sterilization of these gowns prior to use. The gowns are generally folded into a compact configuration for packaging and for ease in donning the gown by the operating room staff. U.S. Pat. No. 3,359,569 shows a typical folding sequence for such gowns. The gowns are generally manufactured, folded into a compact package and sterilized before sale. The sterilization cycles, in which either steam or ethylene oxide gas at elevated temperatures is employed, or radiation sterilization have a tendency to cause the blocking characteristics of the fabric. Generally, the upper folds of the gown will not block because the weight of the lower folds of the gown is sufficient to open the gown. However, the lowermost portion of the gown will often block and not completely unfold and will remain secured to the adjacent fold in the gown. In order to fully unfold the gown, it is necessary for a member of the operating room staff to touch the outside surface of the gown. This contact with the outside surface of the lower portion of the gown is considered to render the gown contaminated according to the strict procedures of asceptic operating room techniques.
The present invention provides a gown which has a folding sequence which totally eliminates this problem. In the present gown, the sleeves are interleaved in the folds of the gown between the lowest portion of the folded gown and the next folded portion of the gown so that when the surgeon or other operating room personnel puts their arms through the sleeves, they will inherently push out the lowest portion of the gown and prevent the blocking problem referred to above.